Garments and certain other items, such as T-shirts, sweat shirts, hats and towels, may be decorated using screen printing machines having one or more printing heads. Generally, the number of heads correspondence to the number of colors to be printed. Applying a screen print to a traditional cloth surface typically involves the development of a positive image onto a screen for each color to be applied to the surface of that item. Typically such screens will be a nylon mesh with a mesh count of approximately 80 or more units per inch, and an image is applied to the screen using an emulsion which is spread onto the screen and selectively exposed to UV light to solidify or burn the image onto the screen mesh.
Each color of an image has its own screen through which an ink or paint is forced to leave an imprint on the item being printed. Each screen is usually stretched taught and attached to a frame which in turn is attached to a screen printing machine or apparatus with single or multiple screen heads. The item on which a decoration is to be printed is fixed to a pallet or surface and a single color screen is brought down and positioned onto the surface of the item to be decorated. A second and subsequent colors may be added to the item being printed on by repeating the process. Each subsequent color may overlay any previous colors.
Traditional applications of designs or logos to an outdoor surface such as grass, asphalt, concrete or other similar surfaces utilize large stencils. A stencil for this type of applications is usually a large single sheet of plastic with a perforated outline cut into the plastic. Typically, the single sheet includes perforated outlines for all colors to be used in the design. Once the perforated outline is traced with the paint for each separate color, of which, all are on the same sheet of plastic, the plastic is removed and the outline is completed for each color by connecting the dots. Then each area of color must be filled in with paint to complete the design or logo using the outline colors as a guide.